Learning an additional foreign language : how affordable is it?

Kežić, Valentina. (2016). Learning an additional foreign language : how affordable is it?. Diploma Thesis. Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu, Department of English Language and Literature. [mentor Letica Krevelj, Stela].

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Abstract

The present study looks into perceptions of students of Swedish as a foreign language (L3) when it comes to previous language(s) (L2(s) English and/or German) influencing their study of Swedish, as well as Swedish influencing their knowledge of previous languages. The 50 participants were presented with a questionnaire in which they had to answer whether they perceived influence between particular combinations of the three languages and, if they did, in which areas and to what degree. In the qualitative part of the questionnaire, they were asked to explain their answers and provide examples for their claims. The results showed great influence of English and German on the process of acquiring Swedish. The influence was mostly positive, especially when it comes to grammar and vocabulary. When it comes to the influence of Swedish on English and German, there seemed to be no, or very little, influence on English, while there was slight influence on German, which was positive in some areas (grammar, vocabulary, receptive skills) and negative in others (pronunciation and productive skills). In general, the results indicate that participants were aware of their languages influencing each other and that they were able to use their previously acquired languages to facilitate the process of acquiring an additional language. Furthermore, they seemed to be able to maintain their previous languages even with the addition of a new language, with English being less affected than German.

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